บท 342: Chapter 309
I don't' know why she was surprised that I called her out in return. Did she not expect me to call her out after taking me somewhere isolated and claiming I am a Divine Spirit? She was….a little off the mark on me, but it wasn't entirely inaccurate, more she aimed right when she should have aimed left.
Her eyes flashed a dangerous red, the mild surprise wore off immediately and I could see her tense up.
Honestly, it felt like I was looking at an animal that was backed into the corner, ready to lash out. Odd considering that she was the one who initiated this confrontation.
"I'm not a True Ancestor." She hissed.
"And I'm not a Divine Spirit." I countered.
She blinked at my abrupt denial. "Impossible, your Divinity is obvious, and you have an Authority, regardless of how you try to hide it."
"And the fact that you can pick up on those things, I'm going to call bullshit on you too." There's no way she would have picked up on something like that unless she was A True Ancestor or something of a similar weight class/caliber to the point where titles were merely semantics.
"…..I am not a True Ancestor." She seethed quietly, repeating herself.
"An Elemental then?" I raised an eyebrow.
"Don't act like you don't know." She scowled. "Who are you, why are you here? If you're here to mess things up – "
"Woah, hold it." I quickly cut of her, because it was clear she was thinking the worst. "You're making an awful lot of assumptions here." Clearly she didn't want her identity revealed by how she's acting. It seemed like a sore spot for her, and I think she's worried I'll blow whatever cover she currently has. "I can promise that I have no ill intentions regarding Chaldea or the people here."
"Am I just supposed to take your word for it." She snorted, but took her arm back. "Why are you here? If you're doing anything that could ruin my plans, I won't let you off easy."
A precarious situation I found myself in. How many days had I been here at this point, and how many things had noticed my…..interesting heritage.
Though, this woman was the most direct about it. Funny that everyone else so far was very cautious about revealing themselves.
I quickly decided what I should and should not say. "Some parties are interested in what's happening, and I was sent to investigate to make sure everything gets resolves satisfactory."
"And that tells me nothing."
"Do you expect me to give you my life story? Pretty much just said I'm under cover here."
She huffed in annoyance, crossing her arms. "I take it your name is fake then."
"And your name is real?" I countered.
The look she gave me made it obvious I hit the mark. "And what exactly is a True Ancestor doing here. The purpose of this organization is the protection of the Human Order. I find it unlikely that one of your kind would overly care about that. You can continue to exist even if the Human Order falls and another takes its place."
"I am not a True Ancestor." She growled. "And I don't care, Divine Spirit." She pursed her lips. "And you're one to talk."
"Not a Divine Spirit, and my mom was human." I chuckled at her attempt to verbally jab right back at me. "Not caring about the purpose of Chaldea, yet here all the same. And a part of A-team as it were. Makes you look suspicious."
"I look suspicious?" She repeated in mild disbelief. "You're the Divine Spirt that shouldn't be able to manifest in this era. Not to mention, you're coming in at this point when we're getting ready to deploy. I've been here since the beginning, you're the suspicious one. Maybe I should report what I found." She eyed me.
"By all means, lets both step into the spotlight." The little twitch of hers meant I hit the mark I was trying to. "But you're hiding just as I am, so it appears we're at an impasse."
"….are you trying to blackmail me?"
"It's more like mutual blackmail. You don't want to reveal yourself – for whatever reason. I don't want to reveal myself for reasons I already said –" The noise she made giving my the impression she didn't believe me just yet. "—So, mutually assured destruction as it were."
Not to mention she was the one who pulled me away, though I can understand her reaction considering that she's an Elemental of some sort – something infinitely close to a True Ancestor but she denied an actual title and I appeared close enough to a Divine Spirit for her to start panicking about.
"There's no reason we have to be hostile." I offered her an olive branch. "I genuinely have no ill will towards Chaldea or anyone here – so far. As I said, I'm investigating the whole situation, I can't rule out that some people here may be less than savory in facilitation of this whole problem."
"You think that someone here is the cause of the Singularity?"
"You should know how the world works more than most. Do you think a Singularity like this would manifest and sustain itself without…..some external assistance? The Counter Force should have purged it with prejudice."
"…..Chaldea formed after the problem was discovered."
"And if someone or something was the cause of the Singularity, do you think they wouldn't keep an eye on the ones tasked with fixing the supposed error in the time-line?"
She bit her lip, seemingly accepting my logic was reasonable. She took a deep breath before responding. "….I had no hand in it."
"Obviously." I snorted myself. "I find it unlikely that an extension of the world would actively seek to unravel the current texture."
"Of course, it's not like I'm a human. I wouldn't do something so ridiculous as harming the world."
A very clear disdain in her voice when talking about humans.
"So we have an agreement?"
"I don't trust you." She sneered, crossing her arms "You still haven't proven who you are or why you're here, only given your word."
"You keep calling me a Divine Spirit. I won't deny that I have both Divinity and an Authority, so believe in my pride that I wouldn't lie." I offered her another perspective. "I intend to fulfill my duties as hired to the best of my ability, and I will be helping resolve this situation as best as possible while also investigating the cause, which may or may not be currently lurking these halls."
"….fine." She relaxed the slightest bit, her tense shoulders slumping a little and her arms unfolded. "I'll believe you, for now. If I think you're doing anything that will disrupt my own goals, then I wont hesitate to reveal you."
"And you would reveal yourself?" I questioned.
"I'm much more trusted than you are. And I was actually hired by Marisbury with him knowing my real identity." She huffed. "So I have a lot more weight behind my words than you do."
"Fair." I nodded at her explanation.
So, she was hired by the previous head of the Animusphere family knowing her true identity. That made things a little interesting. I wonder how Olga's father was able to discover her when even I had no idea that she existed.
"And just for clarification, what are your goals, so I don't accidently step on your toes?" I wouldn't care as long as she wasn't actively participating in the Singularities' creation, nor going against its resolution.
"None of your business."
"You kidnap me, force me to run my mouth and you won't even tell me your basic goal so I don't accidently stumble into it? Rude." I said rather playfully.
She frowned after blowing some air out of her nose. "I want to summon a specific Servant, that's all."
"Really?" I blinked at the sheer simplicity of her supposed goal. "That's it?"
"You have a problem with that?" She narrowed her eyes.
"The opposite, actually. I honestly can't say I have anything against you doing so. A part of me is curious as to why you're going through all this trouble. There were ample opportunities for you to hijack a Grail War that you could have used, yet here you are going through this round about method."
"And reveal myself to humans so I get hunted down and used as some kind of experiment?" She scowled. "The only reason I agreed was because my identity was hidden."
"I suppose I can't fault you there, I know how The Mages Association would treat you." I let out a small sigh. "Alright, I won't do anything to interfere with your attempts to summoning this Servant you want."
"…good." She whispered, there was a noticeable relief that washed over her.
….how important was this summoning for her? She's an Elemental of some kind, so it's likely she's very long lived, at least since the end of the Age of Gods most likely. So, it's reasonable to assume that this Servant she's summoning was someone she knew in life…
I wouldn't press.
It seemed obvious that she's unrelated to my investigation. And I sort of sympathize with her, I don't know what her relationship with this Servant was, but all I could think about was Scáthach and what I went through.
The way she's anticipating it by her undertone, I can imagine it's someone important.
"Since we're being all candid, can I ask you about some things?"
She quickly recovered and returned to her annoyed expression. "Fine, be quick. I don't want to have to answer any questions on why it took so long if there's anyone still around in the training area."
Says the one who took me here in the first place.
"Anyone suspicious I should note?"
"Sure, if they can practice Magecraft, chances are they're scum and would likely do something horrible if it meant they could gain even a modicum of benefits." The sarcasm was clear in her tone.
"Even your team?"
"...There are very few exceptions, even amongst my own team. You've met the Witch."
"Touché." I couldn't argue with her there. "Wodime seemed pretty nice, surprisingly enough. Thought he was going to act like the average High-Noble Magus."
"He is not insufferable." She said quietly.
Curious.
Good to know that Wodime's attitude wasn't just a one-off response to what happened. He appeared amicable; I didn't want him to actually be insulting me in the back of his head during every conversation.
"Anyways, anyone I should specifically look into? Perhaps, Lev?"
She stiffened a little, barely enough that I could have blinked and not notice. "So you noticed."
"It would be hard not to."
"Well, he does a good job of hiding it." The Elemental shrugged. "Not even Beryl noticed, and there are a few other non-humans walking around."
"Any idea on what's going on with him then?" Because I'm fairly sure that Lev was targeting me subtlety. "Clearly, he doesn't want to reveal himself either."
"Why would I know? It's not like I asked him. He hasn't caused any problems, and he's been involved before I came along and hasn't done anything to make me skeptical."
"But you immediately drag me off to an isolated corner of the building."
"Do you think I wanted to get involved in whatever it is you're doing!? He isn't a Divine Spirit masquerading around as a human." She scowled again. "Atleast whatever he is, he's discreet and wouldn't draw any attention to me. I couldn't say the same for a Divine Spirit that just waltzed right into this place like he owned it."
Well, considering the personalities of most Deities, I could see her concern. Better to get ahead of it than to let it blow up without her control.
"He's also targeting me."
"Obviously." She rolled her eyes. "Why else would he bring Beryl to 'help out'. Everyone knows he's a menace at the best of times and outright disgusting normally. Wodime has to constantly threaten him to keep him in line."
"And you're not the least bit curious why he's doing so?"
"I don't care." She said very bluntly. "As long as I'm not involved, and it doesn't interfere, I'm not going to stick my hands in it."
That does give me an idea.
"How about a trade?"
"A trade, for what? What would you even want from me? I want nothing to do with you."
"I could use someone in my corner that knows why I'm here. An extra ear around the place with someone who has much more trust would go a long ways."
She scoffed again. "You have nothing I want. Don't bother trying to –"
"A Holy Grail." I cut her off, making her stiffen. "I can offer a Holy Grail to summon the Servant you want."
"….you're lying."
"I promise on my Divinity, my Authority, and my name." I spoke with genuine sincerity. "I won't even interfere with your attempts to summon through Chaldea's systems. But I also can promise the use of a Holy Grail in case of failure or any other reason."
I could tell she was conflicted on the choice here. She was silent for several moments before her lips parted to speak again. "What do you want specifically?"
"If you hear anything, see anything that might be related to someone either helping the Singularity or preventing Chaldea's mission, I want to know. Also, I want you to run interference with Lev."
"Do you think he's involved?" She didn't sound immediately against the idea, which was a good sign.
"I don't know, but he gives me an uneasy feeling and he's been hostile to me, so it couldn't hurt to be cautious." At this point, I was 99% sure she had absolutely nothing to do with why I'm investigating, so I didn't mind trying to pull her over since she already picked something out about me, so she could probably pick something out I might have missed.
"….I won't do anything that jeopardizes myself."
"I wouldn't ask you to."
"And I did make a promise." She pursed her lips. "I won't betray Chaldea, I have my own pride. The agreement I have with Marisbury Animusphere stands."
Good to know her pride was important to her in this kind of circumstance. "I genuinely have the best intentions for Chaldea."
"Also –" Her hand was raised infront of me, a single finger extended. Her singular nail turned into something sharp, sharper than steel as she kept it for my eyes to see. Slowly, it trailed down to my chest, hovering right over my heart as she poked the spot. "Divine Spirit or not, if you're lying to me, I will carve out your heart."
I wonder if I should tell her that her threat made her more attractive than intimidating.
[***]
"Come on guys, twenty more seconds." I called out to the side as my Team were running back and forth. "Stamina is key for nearly everything we do. Your Magic Circuits have a strange connection to your physical attributes. Stamina carries over not just in the physical aspect, but your ability to push through continued use of your Circuits for long periods of time."
And it would help them since they weren't being trained on full-body Reinforcement. Meaning, their stamina will drain faster, so they needed to thoroughly train that aspect.
It made me feel a little like a drill sergeant.
I held up my fingers, counting down the seconds. "Alright, everyone, you can stop." They immediately collapsed on the ground. "While you're resting, I want to see you turning your Circuits on and off. Get used to doing it under stressful situations. By the time we're done, I expect you all to be able to do it with but a thought."
Though, I would go over it again in a couple days, see who needs more help in that regard.
So far, they've been making some decent progress.
After the incident with Beryl, I hadn't been bothered, and I've had a few days now to really get into their training.
I was also going to teach them how to activate my Talismans and load them up with their own. They weren't spectacular, but their benefit came with their ease of use and ability to be mass produced with large amounts of resources. The downside being of course that they're usually weaker than normal spellcasting with similar effects.
But that's just considering the basic use of Talismans. I obviously have spells that incorporated their usage, but that came from more knowledge and experience than they have the time to catch up to.
So, the ability to just throw out a Talisman that has an immediate effect attached would be beneficial.
Though…..if worse comes to worse, I'll forgo my hidden identity. I don't think my pride can let me just sit and watch if they got into danger and I could help. I accepted them as my responsibility, that made them my people, and I'll do what I can to assure their survival.
"Alright, everyone." I clapped my hands. "You did good, we're going to slowly increase the physical exertion every day. As much as I hate to say it, you guys are going to be hurting every day, and we're going to cheat with Magecraft so we can keep up the effort without breaking your bodies."
The Director had authorized the use of Magecraft of the medical variety. Muscle soothing, enhanced rejuvenation, that kind of thing. Not much, but it would be extremely useful when continuously stressing the body.
"Samuel." I started speaking again. "How you feeling?"
"Um, good boss." He moved his wrist. "Feels weird, but it isn't hurtin no more."
I nodded. "Remember this feeling, your body is getting used to foreign Magical Energy invading it, even for its own benefit. It's going to feel odd for a few days, but you'll get used to the feeling." I walked to the side, pulling out another box of glass balls for them to continue practicing on. "You guys know what to do."
They all walked over with staggered steps, taking a ball or two with them before moving a few feet back and sitting down to concentrate.
"Pierre, you're being too impatient again." I walked up behind him. "Slow and steady."
He took a deep breath, focusing intently on it before it suddenly shattered in his hand. "Fils de bâtard"
I chuckled at his insult in French. "If it helps, think of it like your mother –"
"Casse-toi!" He threw his arm up with a huff, telling me to get lost.
I held back another snorted, dropping another glass ball in his hand. "Seriously though, slow and steady for now. Get a feel for how it reacts, you don't want to just throw all your Magical Energy into it at once."
"J'ai compris, patron" He nodded, focusing again. "Like a fine woman, she needs to be romanced, slowly."
"Like your mom." A distinct British accent followed up a few feet away.
"Branleur!" Pierre shot back. "Or, you Wanker, in the language you pigs talk in. I will learn this faster than you, swine."
There wasn't really any bite to the words, from either of them.
"Is that a bet, Frenchie!?"
"Alright, alright." I interjected. "Focus on your orbs unless I misjudged and you guys have some energy to spare. Which means you can run a bit more today." I walked over to the one Pierre was arguing with who quickly lowered his head.
"Ah, Boss, I can't feel my legs." He looked at me really cheekily.
I lightly swatted at the back of his head. "Focus, Benjamin." I chided him lightly. He was the youngest of the lot. Barely in his twenties, so he was a bit more…playful about this whole thing. "You're having the exact opposite problem. You're going too slow, your Magical Energy is dispersing before it can fill up so you're just wasting your effort."
I knelt down next to him, putting a finger on the Orb. "Watch me." I ushered him. "Don't be afraid of it breaking."
He watched as my Magical Energy poured into it, taking his own and inflating it to where it should be. "Slow is good, but you're not ramping up at all when you see that nothing's happening. Don't be afraid, this is the point where you can mess up without any problems."
"Alright, cock it up all I want, got it mate." He laughed, but did start focusing harder. I just chalked it up to his personality to make light of situations, but he had been putting in the effort, so I didn't think anything negative about him.
I looked around, and the progress was miniscule, but they were getting better.
They actually got along pretty well. No major issues among themselves, even some playful bantering here or there. And no one was challenging my authority, however, that may be because of what happened with Beryl the other day.
Maybe that did put it into perspective like Lev said, even if he was bullshitting.
"I either want you to succeed successfully in ten attempts without breaking the orbs, or I want you to go through twenty Orbs before you finish." I stood amongst my team as they all nodded. "Afterwards, we'll be sitting down and I'll give a small lecture on bodily anatomy and how it pertains to this specific Spell."
I more or less figured out how I was going to go about this even without them learning Structural Grasp. It would be difficult, but within the time constraints, it seemed plausible.
Anyways, I suppose it was time to address the spectator that had been waiting patiently off to the side.
He perked up slightly as I approached.
"Kirschtaria Wodime, to what do I owe the pleasure?"
The Leader of A-Team stood silently as he watched for the past twenty minutes or so, not moving to disrupt. "I apologize, I did not mean to interrupt your training time."
"Don't worry, you didn't." He was very polite like before. "We were wrapping up the physical aspect, before moving on to a lecture afterwards."
"You appear to have built a strong rrapport with your team so far. I had expected it to be more…..disorganized due to their origins."
"They're very out of their depth and they know it. It's easily to get their admiration when I offered them help after their world-views were utterly shattered. And Beryl's introduction seemed to help in that regard." I admitted.
"It is unfortunate that this is required. I do not enjoy the thought of sending inexperienced and unprepared people into such a dangerous situation, if we were to fail. Tell me, do you believe this to be a viable strategy?"
"Viable? No." I shook my head. "You're asking if sending a bunch of mundane people into a potential battlefield that requires the use of Servants to navigate is a feasible alternative. It's practically suicide, but at that point, everything had gone utterly wrong and we're out of options. The literal world would be at stake, so there isn't room to argue about the morality of it. I explained it to them thoroughly, and they're prepared for what hopefully may not come. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst. The best we can do, in a reasonable time frame, is to prepare them to be able to run away from danger while relying on their Servants to do nearly everything."
"It seems we share the same sentiment. I am pleased that you took the path of ensuring their survival instead of training them in other means. I admit I am…..skeptical with the approach of teaching them Reinforcement – even in as minor a capacity as you are attempting – but I can also say I do not believe there is a good alternative."
"The Director mentioned that there are other Mages that were recruited for B-Team coming in the next few batches. I can work with them to fill in the gaps after I see where we're standing at that point." I looked at my team still going about their training exercise, the sound of glass breaking flling the silence between our words.
"A logical approach." He replied. "It is a stroke of luck that you were recruited when you were. Otherwise, I fear B-Team may have been left in the hands of those who would be uncaring beyond immediate gratification."
"….I can only imagine." Yeah, most Magi would just make them presentable and nothing more if they didn't have to. "I do have a question though."
"Speak, I shall answer as best as I can."
"Where are we with regards to Servant Summoning?" I asked, still a little confused on that tid bit. "So far, I don't think you all have performed the summonings yet, but we're approaching the deadline soon. Wouldn't it be wise to start now, train with your servants and be more prepared?"
"A worthy thought, and I believe you have not had much time to learn about Chaldea's facilities thus far as to why that is not the case. To put it simply, our Summoning System is not...reliable." He strained that last word.
"Is it prone to failure?" I raised an eyebrow.
"No, perhaps I chose the wrong word. The system is based on the Grand Ritual performed in the Grail War, but there are also differences. The ability to operate without the support of the Grail or the Leylines it is usually anchored to made it so that other methods were needed."
"It lacks the coordinated power to latch onto a Heroic Spirit and pull them down as a Servant." I could summarize what he was getting at.
"Indeed, even with a probable Catalyst, to facilitate the summoning of a Servant is a difficult endeavor."
"That seems like a worrying notion that should have been brought up sooner. I'm assuming that there is a reasonable solution to this problem?"
"As we approach the time of deployment, Chaldeas and SHEBA have forseen the intervention of the Counter Force. The FATE system will be operable beyond its original limitations and summoning of Servants will be more accessible."
"Ah, The Counter Force is going to open a direct link as the path of least resistance." The Counter Force was basically a machine, it used the bare minimum energy necessary to solve any problem. Knowing that Chaldea is here, ready to resolve this Singularity, the Counter Force would see it and know it doesn't have to expand energy, just open a path to the Throne to allow the FATE summoning system to operate without problems.
And if the CHALDEAS and the SHEBA systems in place were able to simulate the world, peering at points in history, predicting the intervention of the Counter Force should be child's play in comparison.
"Indeed, you have a good understanding of the underlying situation. I am impressed as I heard you have not had any official tutelage connected to the Mages Association. When this matter is resolved, If you would be inclined, I would offer my recommendation to the Clock Tower."
"…that's very kind of you." And I was being sincere when I said that. A recommendation was not a trivial thing to give out. "But I will politely decline. I have no intention of going to the Clock Tower, I don't feel I'll fit in that well."
"Understandable." He didn't push the issue. "Regardless, I have come here to apologize once more for the conduct of my teammate."
"It's fine, it was already resolved as best as it could have been. I don't hold you accountable for his actions."
"No, as the leader, it is my fault, I will not shy away from that." He seemed to not want to budge on that aspect. "I wished to come sooner, but many problems took my attention. As I said previously, I wish to invite you to train with our Team. We have a simulation room set up with the data and the records of dozens of Servants that will allow us to properly simulate a battle involving them. We use it often for our own training purposes, and I believe it would be beneficial if you brought along your team so they can see what they will be participating in if the time comes."
"A battle simulation involving Servants? Color me interested." I was immediately enthused by the idea.
I knew that Chaldea had some interesting toys, but it just continued to impress more and more.
"Wonderful, tell me when you have time prepared. I reserved the Simulation Room for the entirety of today if that is acceptable. You may use them how you see fit."
Well, I did have other plans, but when would they get this opportunity again?
I clapped my hands loudly, gathering everyones attention. "It seems like we have a change of plans. A-Team leader, Kirschtaria Wodime here offered the facilities used by the A-Team today. So, we're going on a little field trip."
[***]
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